Destined
by Morrigan Mikagami
Summary: The 30 Romances of Juubei and Kazuki. Written for the 30romances community at LJ. The second romance: Bathtime. JuKazu Shounen Ai.
1. Light in Dark, Warm in Cold

**Title: **Light in Dark, Warm in Cold  
**Theme #1** – Cold hands

**Disclaimer:** Get Backers & its characters are not mine; they belong to two wonderful, brilliant people—Rando Ayamine and Yuya Aoki, plus their publishing companies & etc. I'm just a lowly fanfiction writer with no money, a few crazy ideas and some time to spare.  
**Author's Notes:** This is /so/ very late. When there's JuKazu, there's always angst… but we can't have that now, can we? Slightly yaoi, purely shounen ai ;-) Written for the **30romances**, a LiveJournal community. R&R appreciated of course! Arigato to my beta, Neaera-san

**Translations:**  
_Haha-ue_ – Mother  
_Sumanai_ – Sorry  
_Dou shitte_ – What is it (what's wrong)?  
_Iya -_ No

* * *

He woke up suddenly, and found himself surrounded by complete darkness. Panic and fear suffocated him with their invisible hands, creeping all over him bit by bit, where he could not see. His whole body was shivering, though strangely, he felt numb and drained. He could not move even a single finger. Not a thought entered his mind, only the sinking realization of facing the unknown, vulnerable and unprepared in the midst of this darkness.

A slight movement at his side roused his senses.

"Haha-ue…" came a soft whimper. Small and seemingly frail hands clutched the hem of his robe near his chest, near his heart. Drawn out and haggard breaths lingered on the slightly exposed skin beneath his collarbone. "Haha-ue…"

And just like that the fear in his heart left him. Panic had let him go. In their absence, grief took its place, as everything came rushing back to him in a fleeting blur.

_The towering flames…  
_…_the blinding haze of smoke…_  
…_the stench of death around him…_  
…_burning bodies on the floor… the pleas… the cries… the tears…_

"Haha-ue…" the younger boy at his side cried again while he slept. The littlest ray of moonlight that permeated through the dense trees touched his sweet, gentle face, which was now covered in soot and dirt. His long, dark hair clung to his skin, mingled with tears and sweat, soiling his beautiful and soft features. He smelled of both burnt wood and paper, and of peach blossoms that had just bloomed in the spring. He looked weak and pale, but his hands held an amazingly strong grip to his robes.

He laid his hands on the smaller boy's shoulders and felt him jerk back and shudder intensely. From sadness or fear or the cold, he could not tell… So he did the only thing he could at that moment: gently wrapping his arms around the other boy's waist, he pressed his body closer to him, praying for what little warmth his body could give for them to share.

One hand enclosed the small fingers that now seized a death grip on his collar: they were cold as ice. The warmth of his hands didn't seem enough.

"I will… I will become stronger." He whispered, drawing the younger boy closer to his chest, closing the gap between them.

"So nothing—no one can ever hurt you again." Fresh tears rolled down his cheek, as he squeezed the cold hands more tightly, willing his body to transfer any heat it could give off.

"So you wouldn't have to cry again." He vowed quietly, ardently into the night, to the nothingness that could hear him.

"I will become stronger so I can protect you." He whispered the words over and over, slowly etching them into the core of his being. "Kazuki, I will protect you."

…And the darkness swallowed them once more.

+---------------------------------------+

He woke up to the familiar darkness; the remnants of a dream, a memory of so long ago swam vaguely in his mind. But there was no panic this time; he knew neither fear nor sadness. Only comforting warmth, a sweet serenity.

He heard the light ruffling of heavy cloth and fabric against the _tatami_ mat, the almost inaudible tingle of bells. He felt the careful movement at his side; the steady breathing that tickled the skin below his ear. Shifting slightly to his right, he caught whiff of peach blossoms, mingled with a faint smell of soap and water. He breathed in deeply, happy, satisfied.

"Juubei? Dou shitte?"

_His_ was the familiar voice that was the source of this calm within his darkened world. _His_ was the familiar, distinct scent that surrounded his senses, protecting him from his doubts and fears.

"Sumanai, Kazuki. Did I wake you?"

Soft strands of stray hair grazed at his cheeks as the other shook his head. "Iya. I was just about to sleep." He felt warm fingers move surreptitiously over his arm, onto his bare chest, as the younger man who lay beside him snuggled closer to him.

_His_ was the touch that melted away all his grief and sadness.

"I thought _you_ were sleeping." Kazuki chided at him, as his other hand reached for Juubei's under the thick blanket.

"I was."

"Juubei!" He heard him gasp a little when their fingers met. "Your hands are cold!" But the other did not pull his hands away. Instead, he wound his fingers deeper around Juubei's and brought their hands between them, near his chest, near his heart.

He sighed. Why he deserved this peace, why he deserved _his_ kindness, he could not figure out--after what he had done. After all, he wasn't able to keep his promise. His hands deserved to be cold. "Kazuki… Those are the hands of the one who betrayed you."

"No, Juubei." Kazuki replied in a soft voice, in a tone reminiscent to that of his mother's when she would tell him a story he'd fall asleep to as a child. "These are the hands of the one who warms my heart." He felt long, delicate fingers squeeze his own, a silent gesture of assurance.

_Perhaps there is a chance… _

"These are the hands of the one who protects me." He felt wet, soft lips touch his fingers, kissing them slowly one by one. His blood pounded in his ears, and he took a sharp intake of breath as Kazuki continued with his ministrations.

…_that he deserves this…_

"These are the hands of the one who heals my soul." He turned to his side as he felt Kazuki tilt his head slightly upwards, towards him…

_Perhaps there is a chance that he deserves this… _

"These are the hands of the one I love…" …before their lips met, and the evening, the darkness, the whole world simply melted away.

…_after all._


	2. Bathtime

**Title: **Bathtime  
**Theme #33** – Strange smells

**Disclaimer:** Get Backers & its characters are not mine; they belong to two wonderful, brilliant people—Rando Ayamine and Yuya Aoki, plus their publishing companies,etc. I'm just a lowly fanfiction writer with no money, a few of crazy ideas and sometime to spare.

**Author's Notes:** Because the JuKazu fans need a little sap and romance once in a while (even if it means a little OOCness…) Very rushed proofread, so please excuse the mistakes! Anyway, I've been feeling rather guilty for not updating in a while XD I would appreciate some reviews though, onegaishimasu yo!

Written for the **30romances**, a LiveJournal community.  
_For my new LJ-friend and JuKazu comrade, Maldy-san_ 0 enjoy!

* * *

Juubei felt his presence long before he came into the room. It really did not have anything to do with his blindness that he was using his other senses now to become aware of everything that was around him…

Only that, when it comes to Kadzuki, all his senses would come into play, all wanting to be surrounded by the Thread Master: ears would perk at the sound of his light footsteps; skin would tingle and feel warm at the same time; mouth would go dry and taste buds would long for something sugary; nose would catch whiff of the mild, sweet scent of peach—

"Nyyyaaaarrrrghhhhhh! Curse that Ban Mido! Curse him!"

The front door of the apartment burst open with a bang, followed by Kadzuki roaring curses to the wind, then the sound of what must have been shoes hurtled onto the wooden floor in rage.

If it wasn't for the force of gravity that held everything down in place, Juubei could have sworn he'd gone flying to the moon from jumping too high in shock. For a few flustered seconds, he went scampering into the living room, searching around for Kadzuki – which supposedly, shouldn't be a hard thing to accomplish, since all he had to do was follow the Thread Master's angry bellowing.

"Damnit! It'd take months to get this much filth out of my hair!"

"Kadzuki? Kadzuki, are you alright? What happened?" So far, all that he was able to grasp was air… which was, he suddenly noticed, oddly tinged with a rather, _foreign_ odor.

"I swear I'll skin him alive with the threads! Arrrghhhh!"

For as long as Juubei can remember, Kadzuki rarely lost himself to anger, cursing and shouting was never his way of letting it out, mild-mannered and level-headed that he was. But something -– or rather, _someone_, by the name of Mido Ban, had pushed the usually calm and composed Thread Master to the brinks of fury.

With still empty air in his hands, Juubei began to "sniff" Kadzuki out. But all he whiffed was a dreadful stench of rotting fruit and burnt rubber, which made him feel a little sick. And Kadzuki's voice was drifting in and out, which probably meant that he was moving across the rooms of the apartment.

_Stomp, stomp, stomp._ "Nyaaaagghhh!" A tap being opened, the sound of running water. _Stomp, stomp, stomp._ "Curse him!" Drawers being shoved open in rage, the sound of objects getting rummaged. Apparently, he was too preoccupied with his anger to notice Juubei calling.

"Kadzuki? Kadzuki! Where are you?" The whole room was reeking of that foul odor already. 'Where in heavens name is that coming from anyway!'

Still unsuccessful in getting Kadzuki's attention, Juubei followed the sound of running water instead, and eventually found himself inside the bathroom.

"Juubei! Ah, _gomen nasai_," Kadzuki had just entered, fumbling the containers on the lavatory counter, "I'm drawing a bath. That stupid partner of Ginji-san's—"

"There it is again!" Juubei almost blanched as the foul odor surrounded him, its smell intensified in the confined space of the bathroom. "What is _that awful smell_?"

Juubei did not notice the burning redness on Kadzuki's cheeks. But he did sense that the Thread Master began fidgeting, hesitating whether to answer Juubei's query or continue with the rituals of preparing for his bath. He moved a few steps towards him.

"T-that is…"

"Kadzuki..?" Juubei sniffed the air again. There was no doubt.

"No—wait, please Juubei—don't—don't come near me!" He can detect a slight embarrassment in Kadzuki's nervous tone. "I—I'm just going take a bath, ok? I'll tell you about it after I'm done."

But Juubei continued to move forward, hands reaching out for Kadzuki. Kadzuki, on the other hand, was stepping backwards, and failed to notice the slight cleft on the floor. As Juubei's fingers took hold of Kadzuki's shirt, Kadzuki tripped on that cleft—

_Slip. Tumble. Crash!_

"So, it is -you-, Kadzuki!"

+---------------------------------------+

"It's that damn Ban Mido's fault." Kadzuki sighed, as he snuggled inside Juubei's arms, which closed around him from behind. "He's so darn stupid! Letting that highschool girl boss him around."

Kadzuki continued cursing the Get Backer while he furiously washed his long tresses. His anger had dissipated significantly over the past hour, cursing once in a while, or attaching some dire words to describe Ban Mido. But for the most part, Juubei can safely say that the Thread Master was now gradually regaining his composure.

"If it wasn't for Ginji-san, I never would have agreed to sift through all that garbage looking for that darn briefcase!"

Juubei lazily caressed Kadzuki's smooth arms with soap while he listened to his rants. Somehow, he couldn't quite empathize with Kadzuki's annoyance at Ban's stupidity, in fact, he felt grateful for it – a bit ashamed, yes, for thinking that way (because he'd gotten Kadzuki in this mess, literally) – but still grateful. Juubei grinned sheepishly as he let his hands move gently onto Kadzuki's shoulders and began massaging them in slow circles.

"Ohh... Juubei, that feels so nice." Kadzuki let out a soft moan and a sigh, leaning on to his companion as he closed his eyes in relaxation.

Ban Mido's stupidity can be rather convenient sometimes. He really should thank that stupid Ban Mido one of these days...

Juubei smirked as he continued with his ministrations, while the sweet scent of strawberries and lilies wafted through the air, surrounding them both in the confined space of the bathtub.

FIN.


End file.
